Astar Writes Naekawa
by neuroi
Summary: A collection of Naekawa/Fukaegi fanfictions I've written. Non-Despair AU.
1. Treehouse

It was Valentine s Day. It was surprising for a romance novelist, but she hated Valentine s Day.  
Even those who had no boyfriend had friends to make chocolates for,  
to spend their day with, but not her. Not Fukawa. She was alone, as always. She would be lucky to end the day without a fake love confession, let alone to receive Valentine s gifts.

She pretended not to notice when everyone gathered between classes, as if she did not want to be a part of whatever shenanigans her fellows were getting into. She heard something about a Valentine's Day game. Something about a date with whoever drew the same color ballot. It sounded stupid to her, until she noticed something. Togami was in the group! Her beloved Togami! How could he even consider playing along with such stupid activities? She wondered if there was someone he was hoping to get. Surely it wasn't her.

"Fukawa!" a voice called, "Don't you want to play?"

Touko grumbled incoherently. Of course she didn't want to play, but it seemed Togami was going to make her. She couldn't stand by while he agreed to see another woman!

"Fine, I'll go along with your game… but if someone stands me up…" her voice trailed off into another illegible mumble.

With that, the students all drew their lots, and as Fukawa drew a purple-tipped paper she glanced around wildly for Togami. He didn't seem to be there. She sidled over to Naegi, the least threatening person she could find.

"Err… Naegi… Have you seen Byakuya around?"

"No, I haven't."

"I was hoping…"

"You wanted to be matched with him, huh?" Naegi asked thoughtfully, looking around for Togami. "I don't think he was playing…"

"B-but! I saw him just now! He was standing with the group! Don't tell me…!"

"Fukawa, let me see your lot."

Touko shook nervously as she drew her lot from behind her, holding it up to Naegi.

"Hey, we got the same color!" Naegi smiled innocently, pressing his lot against hers. "I guess we'll be hanging out tonight."

"No! No! I wanted…" she looked at Naegi's face. His eyes were concerned, but his mouth still curved into a smile. "Oh… all right… I suppose it could be worse…"

"That's the spirit." Naegi laughed.

"D-don't laugh at me, idiot!" she choked, "I-I'm only doing this because I feel bad for you!"

"I'm sorry. I'll pick you up at 6, okay?"

"O-okay…" she murmured.

All day, Fukawa's nerves were wracked. She worried about everything that there could possibly be to worry about. She didn't have any nice clothes to wear. She didn't own any makeup. She would go out, smelly and ugly, to some unfamiliar place where all eyes were on her, judging her, criticizing her every clumsy movement. Everyone would think Naegi was with her out of pity, and she would agree. She knew Naegi wouldn't stand her up, because he was too honest, and he wouldn't be able to deny anyone. She passed him on her way out of the school, and he shot her one of those adorable smiles that he could always muster. But it wasn't adorable to her. It was sickening. How dare he be so kind to her? She was disgusting. Not worth his time.

When she got home, she took a well-deserved shower, half for relaxation and half to make herself look presentable. She remembered suddenly that she had a dress she had received as a gift. She had never worn it. She wasn't pretty enough for such a flashy thing. It was baby yellow and pink, covered with lace. It looked like it belonged on a magical girl more than a meager literary genius like herself. She put it on, along with long black socks and her usual shoes. She rolled her eyes at her reflection in the mirror. Who was she trying to fool? She was hideous no matter what she wore. She was about to take the dress off and find something else to wear when she heard the doorbell and, rushing down the stairs, dashed to get the door.

Naegi hadn't dressed up at all. He was wearing his usual hoodie, the same old thing he wore to school every day. Fukawa was furiously embarrassed. Her face became red as a beet, and she looked cartoonishly angry.

"What are you doing? What are you wearing? I thought-"

"Fukawa, you look great!" he thrusted a bundle of flowers into her arms. "I didn't think you were going to dress up…"

"W… why?" Fukawa was overcome by emotion. Nobody ever bought her flowers. Nobody ever said she looked great. She felt like she might cry.

"I thought you didn't want to go with me."

"W-well, I don't! But I am, so lets g-get this over with!"

"All right, lets go." Naegi did it again. He smiled.

The two of them started to walk, Fukawa following by Naegi's side. She didn't want to ask where they were going. She thought it must be a surprise. Apparently Naegi was trying to be romantic for her. Was he trying to impress her? She couldn't understand why he would need to. She didn't have anything to offer him. She wasn't rich, and her talent wouldn't be of any use to him, unless maybe he wanted her to write him a poem for another girl. The thought made her jealous. She glanced over at him, examining his face. He smiled blankly. His expression didn't give away any ulterior motive. All it did was give her the slightest butterflies… wait, no! She loved Togami! She didn't care about Naegi, this stupid idiot who insisted on treating her so well regardless of everything she said about him… She didn't have time to think about it any more before Naegi turned a corner into the forest.

"Hey, where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," he called, racing ahead of her.

Of course, she was right. It was a surprise. After she chased him through the dark of the woods for a time, they came upon a run-down looking tree house with three walls supporting its roof, leaving one side open to look out of. Naegi promptly climbed into the tree house, scrambling up the ladder like a spider monkey.

"We're going up there?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah." Naegi sat on the ledge looking out into the forest. "I found it awhile ago. Just come up!"

Fukawa reluctantly climbed up after him, taking a seat beside him. He didn't say a word. He just looked out into the forest before him. Fukawa followed his gaze to a clearing in the trees where the light shone through, illuminating the trees in yellows and oranges. He was trying to impress her! He knew that the beautiful sight of the sun-drenched forest would move her. He wanted to get on her good side. He had probably set this entire thing up. He had tricked her.

"W… what do you want from me?" she stammered, trying to hide tears welling up in her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you bring me here?" she sobbed, "What do you expect to gain?"

"I just thought you'd enjoy it. I couldn't afford to take you to a restaurant or anything…"

"That's bullshit!" she cried, "You don't care about me! Nobody does."

"Fukawa…" Naegi looked concerned. Touko was taken aback again. What was wrong with this boy? Why did she matter to him? He was such a busybody. Touko put her face in her hands.

"Fukawa… Can I ask you something?"

"You might as well… You've already hurt me enough!"

"If you want someone to care about you, why do you like Togami so much?"

"Byakuya does care about me! He… he gives me advice. He lets me hang around him…"

"I would do that for you, too. Anyone would. You're better than you give yourself credit for."

"No! No! You won't sway me, idiot…"

"Fukawa, look up. You'll miss the sunset if you don't look up."

Touko continued to sob into her hands for a time, but eventually she stopped crying and looked up. The sunset truly was beautiful, she thought, and as she admired the way the light shone through the trees she felt something warm wrap around her shoulder. She glanced Naegi's way. His arm was around her. He smiled. He seemed so pure. He was perfect. She was starting to see him the way she saw Togami. But he was better than Togami. He had feelings. He was concerned for her. She nervously scooted over closer to him, allowing his arm to rest more comfortably. Then she decided to do something crazy. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. The sun had set. Now the moon shone through the trees, and the light they were cast in was white as snow.

"Fukawa, I think I should get you home. Your family will worry about you."

"No they won't." Fukawa smiled dully. "I want to stay here, with you."

Naegi sighed exasperatedly, "All right. A little while longer."


	2. Mourning Dove

"Naegi, I expect better of you. If you can't keep your grades up, we'll have to expel you from Hope's Peak."

As the teacher lectured Naegi, one word stood out to him. "Tutor." Naegi's choice for tutor was a simple decision. The Super High School Level Literary Girl would be a perfect choice to tutor him in creative writing, and after Valentine's Day he had been dying to find an excuse to spend time with her. As the teacher dismissed him, he found himself thankful that he had put off his last writing assignment to the last minute. If it had been better, he wouldn't have been given this chance to see her privately.

It wasn't as easy to find her after school as it had been in the past. In the past few days, she hadn't been following Togami around. As proud as Naegi was of her for acting independently, he wished he could catch her. Finally she emerged from the doors. It seemed that she had been spending her time with a couple of the upperclassmen, and as they bade her goodbye, she seemed to flinch, noticing Naegi.

"Fukawa, I've been waiting for you." Naegi grinned. "I have a favor to ask."

"Oh, geez… what is it?" she asked harshly.

"I was hoping you could help me get my creative writing grade up, since you're a top-selling author and all…"

Fukawa blushed. "I suppose I could do you a favor… but you're going to owe me."

"Of course!" Naegi sighed happily. "Can we go to my house right now? Are you busy?"

"N-no… I'm never busy." Touko grumbled.

"Great." Naegi said. "I mean, great that you can come over. Not that you're never busy."

"Sure, sure." Fukawa sighed. "Let's just… let's just get going."

They began to walk, side-by-side, toward Naegi's house. They both knew where the other lived, as they had been paired for projects before. As opposed as Fukawa seemed to helping him, she walked so that their shoulders brushed. Her face looked completely indignant. She blushed red, apparently embarrassed to be seen with Naegi. Her embarrassment didn't subside as she entered his home, but intensified. She desperately hoped that Naegi's family wouldn't think anything of seeing them together. Naegi only greeted his mother briefly as he led Touko upstairs to his room.

"S-so what do you need help with?" Fukawa asked.

"I guess I just don't like writing. I'm not very good at coming up with a story, and even if I can I don't know how to word it."

"So you're just terrible, then." Fukawa told bluntly.

"I wouldn't say that!" Naegi jumped.

"I-I would." Fukawa stumbled over her words. She still seemed embarrassed to be around him.

"Well, can you help me be less terrible?" Naegi scratched at the back of his head.

"O-of course! I'm a writer, I can turn you into a writer too."

Fukawa sat down and began to teach Naegi, avoiding his gaze at every instance. Any time she would look to him, she would find the thing she dreaded; Naegi was paying attention. His eyes were alert, and he smiled at her politely. Terrible thoughts rushed through her head. She wanted to hold his hand, maybe give him a kiss on the cheek. He was so adorable. He was different from Togami. Togami was attractive in a completely different way, and she thought that perhaps what she felt for him was only lust. She was glad it was over, anyway. She wasn't going to pursue Togami any longer, and that was all that mattered. That and making sure Naegi didn't get expelled from Hope's Peak, and so she put all her thoughts into teaching him about allusion and foreshadow, and she didn't glance at his warm, inviting face for a second, until he interrupted.

"Fukawa, this is very helpful, but… it's not helping me come up with story ideas."

"O-oh…"

"How do you come up with your ideas?"

"I u-usually… write about what I would want to happen to me…" She looked humiliated. "But that m-method only w-works for certain genres…"

"Well, I'm supposed to write a fairy tale next. Will it work for that?"

"I s-suppose, but you'll have to alter it to make it fit the time period…"

"I think I have an idea. Why don't I write it tonight, and you can review it next time I see you?"

"S-sure… I hope it's not as idiotic as I expect it to be…"

"I don't think it'll disappoint you, Fukawa. Thank you for your help." He smiled again. It was awful when he smiled. The butterflies made Touko want to throw up.

"N-not a problem!" she smiled.

The next morning, Naegi handed Fukawa his story without a word, smiling at her before briskly walking over to his seat between Kirigiri and Hagakure.

"Oi, Naegi!" Hagakure whispered, "What'd you give her? A love note?"

Fukawa stopped listening after the creak of Naegi's chair being pulled away from the desk and started to read.

"Once upon a time, there was a peasant. One day, the peasant was hired to work in the castle, serving the rich lords and ladies who lived there. The trouble came when the peasant met the princesses. The king and queen had many daughters, but in the peasant's eyes none were as beautiful as the one known as Princess Dove. She was known as Princess Dove because she always seemed to be in mourning. The peasant wanted Princess Dove to be happy more than anything in the world, and so he decided that he would befriend her.

The peasant brought her many gifts. He brought her flowers, candy; anything he could afford that he thought might make the princess happy. But no matter what he brought to her, she would not accept the gifts. The only gifts she desired were from the Prince of the Iron Castle.

One day, the King and Queen decided they would send a gift to the Iron Castle as a peace offering. They purchased a fine golden vase and set out to find someone to deliver the present, and the peasant volunteered, hoping to tell the prince how Princess Dove felt. The king and queen obliged; the peasant was one of their favorite servants, and they were certain he would do a fine job.

The peasant traveled for two weeks, stopping his horse only to sleep. He traveled through swamps, meadows and deserts across the country, searching for the Iron Castle. When he reached the castle, he hastily dismounted his horse and rushed to the King and Queen, asking them to speak to their son. They granted him permission, pleased with the gift, and sent him to the prince's chambers.

When the peasant told the prince of the Dove Princess, the prince scoffed. He told the peasant that he would never marry someone so dirty and ugly, sending the peasant back to his kingdom empty-handed.

When the peasant returned to the castle, he trudged straight to Princess Dove's chambers to give her the bad news, but before he could say a word she had thrown her arms around the peasant's neck. She had been worried about him, her best friend, for an entire month.

The peasant vowed never to leave her side again. He became her personal servant, and the two of them spent every day together. Princess Dove was happy from then on."

Fukawa put down the paper and glanced Naegi's way. He smiled at her, but it was washed away as he noticed the tears in her eyes. He had upset her again. He stood and walked over and sat down next to her.

"What's wrong?"

"…Th-the ending is terrible and it's too short. Nothing illustrates the relationship between the princess and the peasant. It's j-just as b-bad as I predicted."

"I know that's not why you're crying."

That was when the bell rang. Fukawa made haste as she got up and left the room.

Naegi caught her again after school, but this time she didn't jump when she saw him. She tried to ignore him, to walk by without a word, but he made it impossible.

"Fukawa, can we talk about my story?"  
"F-fine." Touko grumbled, "Lets go to your house again. I don't want to discuss it in public. I'll embarrass you."

This time the walk home was more impersonal. Fukawa and Naegi stood on opposite ends of the sidewalk. Fukawa crossed her arms. Naegi's hands were in his pockets. When they reached the house, Fukawa trudged up the stairs, not waiting for Naegi to greet his family. They sat awkwardly around his room, before Naegi finally said something.

"I'm sorry."

"D-do you even know what you're sorry for?"

"No. I wish you would tell me."

"I can't." Fukawa twiddled her thumbs. "But I forgive you."

"That's a relief. The last thing I want is to upset you."

"You wouldn't have upset me if your story hadn't been so shabby."

Naegi grinned, "What would you have done with it?"

Fukawa blushed red. "I… I would have had the peasant marry the princess."

"Fukawa, you know what that story was about, don't you?"

"O-of course I know! I-I just w-want to make you a better wr-writer, and garbage endings like that one are not what people want to read."

"I guess you're right." Naegi conceded.

"Of course I'm right. So just change the end, and you'll be all set."

Naegi blushed. Then he said something truly stupid. "What about the real end?"

"Eh?"

"What about the real princess? I think we both know she isn't really happy."

"H-huh…?"

Naegi sighed. He hadn't realized how difficult she would make it. "I'm talking about you, Touko. What do you want?"

Fukawa flinched. He had used her first name. "Ah! I-I don't want anything from you!"

"Oh, okay." Naegi nodded understandingly. "I guess you should get going so I can fix the story."

"N-no… wait… I do w-want s-something."

"I thought so." Naegi laughed.

"D-don't laugh at me!" Fukawa shouted, "I'll go home!"

"All right, sorry."

"I-its… o-ok-k-kay…" Fukawa mumbled, rolling her chair closer to Naegi. Their eyes met for a moment. Fukawa's heart pounded. She could barely breathe. She was going to do it. She leaned her face toward his. She touched her lips lightly against his cheek, withdrawing as quickly as she could and rolling her chair back across the room. She couldn't believe that she had been forced to make the first move. She flopped her torso over the small wooden table, burying her head in her arms. She sat there for a time, recovering from the stress. When she picked her head back up, Naegi was sitting next to her. He was as red as she was, and as he moved close to her he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm proud of you." Naegi hummed.

"I-I don't need you to be p-proud of me, nitwit."

"Of course not."


End file.
